ArtsVote relaunches in anticipation of Toronto Municipal Election 2010
The launch of ArtsVote Toronto 2010 is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 5 – 7pm at UrbanSpace Gallery, 401 Richmond Street West. The ArtsVote Toronto 2010 launch will feature guest speakers as well as the official launch of the ArtsVote Toronto 2010 website.
ArtsVote 2010 is a coalition of volunteer arts workers and artists, working to elect candidates who support the arts in the November 8, 2010 municipal election. The goals are to communicate the value of the arts to Toronto city councillors, and mobilize all artsworkers who earn their living in the arts to vote for candidates who are committed to building a vibrant and cultured community.
Inspired by the model of the original successful ArtsVote in Toronto, and subsequent Artsvote models that have appeared elsewhere in Ontario and across the country, ArtsVote Toronto 2010 is co-Chaired by Camilla Holland and Jacoba Knaapen and an amalgamation of leading artsworkers representing a broad range of disciplines. Co-Chair Jacoba Knaapen explains that “ArtsVote 2010 is developing a wide discipline-specific network of arts workers and organizations including theatre, dance, opera, literature, visual art, music, film/new media, urban arts, youth engagement and social media to reach as broad a range of artsworkers as possible, educating and encouraging them to vote”.
The strategy is straightforward. “We’re going to create a communications network among Toronto citizens whose livelihood is directly tied to the arts, educate this constituency about arts issues and candidates, and critically, get them out to vote”, says ArtsVote Co-Chair Camilla Holland. The ArtsVote network will be created and maintained through extensive e-promotions, the wide distribution of the ArtsVote Toronto 2010 Report Card which will rank incumbent and challenger candidates for City Councillors and Mayor, and finally through encouraging artists and artworkers to vote through a live phone campaign, run by volunteers.
ArtVote 2010 Steering Committee:
Camilla Holland (647) 278-0690, Jacoba Knaapen (416) 580-6997, Sue Edworthy, Ravi Jain, Shannon Litzenberger and Jini Stolk. Email contact: info@artsvotetoronto.ca
Join the discussion at: www.artsvotetoronto.ca




